The last two times out on the River it has been tough. I went last week to prefish for a tourney I have in two weeks and just can't get on some fish. Is there any techniques you BBC members use for this time of year on a river.
The last two times out on the River it has been tough. I went last week to prefish for a tourney I have in two weeks and just can't get on some fish. Is there any techniques you BBC members use for this time of year on a river.
Right now a Carolina rig or a deep crankbait can't be beat around here. Fish are moving to there summer hangouts the rig and a DD22 will get down and draw them out.
Don't forget the texas rig David....
About all I fish on rivers are t-rigs and cranks...
Thanks, The rivers here are very shallow 12 ft max. so I'm not sure the DD22 will work. But cranks are surly an option. What colors or brands are your favorites.
I really like the Rapala DT series now. Get ya some of them that run the right depth and hang on.
Steven Shamblin
2003 Triton TR-22 / Evinrude 225H/O
I have some just not throwing them. I guess you have to tie one to catch something on it.
I like a T-rig just a little latter when the fish are strong in the brush. On Dardenelle this weekend they were close but not right in the brush for me, just more related to the drops. In those conditions I cover more water with the c-rig than the t-rig,but its really a personal choice, either will catch fish.
Is the river your fishing tidal? That will make a difference as to when the fish will turn on. What kind of cover do you have? Wood or grass?
Here on Cooper river, there are 3 MUST HAVE baits that I keep tied on.
1 Topwater. I perfer a Pop-r over any other topwater, but a buzzbait, tiny torpedo also work well.
2 Floating worm or a fluke.
3 Texas Rig. Even though the fish on our river tend to be smaller, I like a big worm. I've been having alot of success on the old 8" jelly worm by Manns bait co.
It's been so good lately, that I just ordered 300 of them!!
Hey i went on the arkansas river Monday and caught some bass on a sinking minnow out in front of the grass beds... i was throwing parralell to the grass beds, but i could tell the catfish are up doing there thing cause i caught several catfishI threw the crank along rock ledges and didn't to as good as the sinking minnow. Don't really know where to throw a c. rig but i bet that could be deadly along drops!I did notice on the depth finder that a lot of fish were hanging around the 8 foot range around structure but couln't get em to hit the crank but didn't really have time to try other baits!
The rivers I fish are not really tidal. The level of the river is more wind driven. The cover is more wood then anything. I guess last week was just tough, weather wise. I will try again later next week.
Not sure which river you are fishing, but if it has grass throw a one minus and spinnerbait and cover alot of water.
Lots of fish were caught out of the grass and pad fields also on various frogs. Lucky for me though my partners were both more onto the summer patterns rather than fishing the flats. Channel bends drops, main lake ledges and humps were the main structure we fished. Would have like to get on a good frog bite sometime. They said really big fish were blowing up on the baits.
Thanks for the input. I just could not get a topwater bite last week. I have been using the Apopalypse during the spring with great success. But not last week.
A floating worm or fluke is good for the rivers around here.
I would have the following tied on or available:
1/4-3/8oz Swim Jig/Double Tail Grub (I am partial to greens/browns/pumpkins) - In the mornings buzz it like a toad or buzzbait just under the surface. Run it into and through every piece of cover you see. Later on in the day, slow it down and slow roll it in the eddies or pockets or even off of the ledges.....
Rapala DT 4/Brian's Bee 2/Bagley Honey B - These baits run 2-4 foot and I would run them through every laydown/log/branch you can find. Anywhere you would throw a jig or spinnerbait....
Rapala DT 10 - Hit the ledge in the river bends. I would throw the chartreuse/brown back or the green/blue back....
Rapala DT 14 - Hit the ledges where the 10 just want touch bottom. Same patterns.
5/15-7/16 "finnesse" flipping jig brown/orange - flipping and pitching to any docks or cover. Sometimes they want the scaled down version. This is not a lightwire jig, but has a 4/0 mustad ultra point on it with 25lb test fluorocarbon. Sometimes the compact package gets more bites....
1/2-3/4oz jig Brown/Orange or Brown/Black/Amber with Matching Trailer - Flip and pitch to the wood cover. The heavier jig may get you more reactions strikes than the lighter jig and most people are throwing black/blue.....
Last ditch effort would be carolina rig with baby brush hog in green pumkin/watermelonseed/or key lime pie thrown the same places I hit with the crankbait.....
I know that is 7 rigs, but most of us have more rods than we know what to do with anyway. Truth be known, I spend most of my days with a jig of sort in hand or a deep diving crankbait....
When fishing jigs, I tend to lean towards brown/orange around wood and watermelon or green pumkin in the grass. One more thing is I have been getting more bites using the starflash round silicone skirts over plain silicone. They are very similar to living rubber but have a little more flash to them in dirty water. Crankbaits I like Chartreuse/Rootbeer and Homer patterns (the two I mentioned above are rapala's version of those patterns) in the summertime. Those are my two cofidence baits.
Good luck,
Steve
Steve, Wow thanks for taking the effort and writing such a response to my topic. It is greatly appriciated. Last year the old jig and apopalypse was my go to baits. I will try some cranks next time out.
Hey, lets keep guiet about running that little Honey B thru laydowns in the HOTTEST days of summer, ok?
I really have had my best luck in the summer in rivers by flipping and pitching soft plastics to laydowns and cypress trees. I have caught a few on topwaters (buzzbaits) as well. Try fishing bridges, they can be some of the best spots you can fish on rivers during the summer also! (Soft plastics and crankbaits work well on the bridges and riprap.)
Jerk bait.....Rapala Rap X....pearl white.
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